Tokyo Olympics 2020: IOA chief Narinder Batra confident Japan will pull off hassle-free Games

New Delhi: The steady chorus against the upcoming Tokyo Games notwithstanding, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is fairly confident that Japan will conduct a smooth Olympics in less than 40 days from now. The Olympics, deferred by a year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, are scheduled to begin on 23 July. Ten prefectures of Japan, including Tokyo, remain in a state of emergency till 20 June. However, Tokyo and Osaka are likely to be put in a ‘quasi emergency’, local media has reported. Last month, Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association, a group of 6,000 physicians, wrote an open letter to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga imploring him to cancel the Games. “We believe the correct choice is to cancel an event that has the possibility of increasing the numbers of infected people and deaths,” the letter said. However, the situation in Japan has improved in recent days, with the country reporting 10 cases per 1,00,000 people over the past seven days. The vaccination rate, albeit picking pace, has so far covered only 4.3 percent of the Japanese population though. “I am quite sure the Olympics will go smoothly. All precautions are being taken care of. The organising committee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are fully on board in terms of protocols,” IOA president Narinder Batra told Firstpost. “All athletes will stay in a bio bubble in Games village, and from there they’ll be going to training and competition venues. Everything will happen in a controlled environment. I don’t see any problem. Almost all participating athletes would have had got both their doses of vaccines. The entire Indian contingent will go 100 percent vaccinated with both doses. So, I am not worried at all. In fact, I am quite sure that the event will go without hiccups.” Batra asserted that the IOA is adhering to IOC’s guidelines mentioned in the Olympics playbooks, and said he is fully satisfied with the protocols in place. “The systems are all there. The isolation venues and hospitals have been earmarked. There will be a rapid antigen test on arrival in Tokyo. If that test is positive, you’ll have to take an RT-PCR test. The place where the athlete or official will be put up until the test results come have been decided. If the said person needs hospitalisation, the hospitals have been decided. So, everything is on track,” he said. Additionally, the Indian government has set up an Olympics Mission Cell within the Indian embassy in Tokyo as a one-stop shop for all logistical needs for the travelling contingent. Further, the sports ministry has recently announced that they will not be sending a delegation to Tokyo to ensure maximum support staff travels with the athletes. As a norm, the number of officials travelling to the Olympics cannot be more than one-third of the athletes’ contingent. “The government is entitled to send, I think, five people, including the sports minister, over and above this 33 percent cap. The strength of the IOA contingent, which falls within the 33 percent group, will thus remain unchanged,” explained Batra. The IOA travel party usually comprises of three doctors, a press attache, and a security head. The chef de mission, deputy chef de mission, the IOA president and secretary-general are over and above the 33 percent limit. So far, about 100 Indian athletes have qualified for the Games with another 25-30 expected to make the cut by the end of June. “The complete Indian contingent is not drawn yet, but we should be sending 120-130 athletes, and the total contingent is likely to be somewhere between 185-195,” said the IOA chief. No sponsor, no problem Last week, IOA dropped Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning as the apparel sponsor for the Indian contingent, days after the official unveiling of the same in the national capital. The decision, taken after a social media backlash, has left Indian athletes with the possibility of competing without an apparel sponsor. It even prompted the Chinese foreign ministry asking India to be “fair and objective.” [caption id=“attachment_9698111” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] IOA president Narinder Batra with Union Minister for Sport and Youth Affairs Kiren Rijiju and Olympic-bound athletes at the launch of India’s kit for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Games. Image credit: Sports Authority of India[/caption] “Look, it is not my place to comment on a foreign ministry issue. However, I must assure you that IOA is completely apolitical and is only concerned with sports. IOA decides on branding, and that doesn’t get overshadowed by political compulsions or commitments. For me, the public sentiment and fan following of Indian sportspersons is more important than what country A or B thinks. When we did the apparel branding, there was a strong public sentiment against it so we took a conscious decision. “We don’t deal directly with the brand (Li Ning) you are referring to. We have an agency in India that sources sponsorships for us. Then, there’s a company based in Singapore (Sunlight Sports) that has distribution rights for India for this particular brand. Our discussions happen with this Singapore-based distributor. For us, the only difference is that instead of the sponsor (La Ning) paying to the manufacturer, IOA will pay them. That’s all the change is. There is no change in delivery of uniforms or quality. If we get a good sponsor, we’ll go ahead. But we don’t want to cut down on the brand value. “On many occasions, we have gone without any manufacturer’s logo, so if it happens, it won’t be a first. In Olympics, you can’t use logos other than those of manufacturers, NOC and country name, you can’t have any other logo. IOC have their own sponsors and you cannot come in conflict with them,” he added. Reiterating his prediction for a double-digit haul from India, Batra said that the Olympics will be a largely level playing field. “We can’t hide behind COVID-19 excuse. The pandemic situation has been same for everyone. Once you enter the field, all the talk of pressure and expectations fade away and you just execute your skills. I am sure our athletes will do their best,” he signed off.